As college students, it’s almost a given that we’re going to be ridiculously, crazily, oh-my-gosh-when-is-it-Friday-already busy. We have our academic work, jobs, clubs, committees, health, spirituality – you name it – to worry about. Am I missing anything? Oh, right. A SOCIAL LIFE. Like what?! How is any normal human being supposed to be able to manage all of these things and still be able to come up for air every once in a while? Well, simply put, you can’t.
I know most of us aren’t going to like to be told we can’t do something(s), especially given the extremely fast-paced and competitive, Type-A environment in which we all thrive, but hear me out. I’ve been trying to demystify the paradox of having a 25-hour schedule built for a 24-hour day for years. It hasn’t been until recently that I realized this very simple – yet deceivingly complicated – fact: You can have it all. Maybe you can’t have it all at once, but you can absolutely have it all.
So what does this even mean? Basically, it means letting go. Let go of the stress you feel about having to get six hundred things done in one day, and pick two, three, even one “thing” to truly accomplish each day. Promise yourself to give that “thing” your all. Pour your heart and soul into whatever it is you have set out to do for the day, and I can almost guarantee you will make yourself infinitely happier. Choose to enjoy studying, rather than looking upon it as a cumbersome burden. Resolve to run an extra mile, sleep in for an hour, or stay out late with your friends because you are young. It’s counterintuitive, but with time you will realize your endless To-Do list is slowly shrinking. Great things aren’t accomplished overnight, and they certainly won’t be accomplished well if your heart isn’t in them.
Another thing you’re going to need to realize while you’re on the road to “having it all” is that the only person to whom you ever need to answer is yourself. Forget the pressure you feel from others and focus on what you need to do to get to where you want to be. You are in complete control of your life. Not your professors, your parents, friends, significant other, or bosses. You. Much like the saying “You must learn to love yourself before you can learn to love others,” you must make yourself happy first before you can focus on the happiness of others. I’m not telling you to ditch your family and live the rest of your life in solitude. Rather, I am suggesting you make some time for the most important person in your life: you.
I realize that I probably sound like one big giant fortune cookie, but there just is no denying the truth. We are all overwhelmed – no one is alone in this. Aside from it being tiring, it takes such a toll on your health to continually run around like a chicken with its head cut off. Find your own personal middle ground, that place where you can be utterly productive yet totally relaxed. Find a healthy outlet that allows you to decompress completely, and incorporate whatever this outlet may be into your regular routine. I truly believe that with a little bit of mental restructuring, we all have the power to turn even the most stressful situations into enjoyable ones. We just have to find that balance.